This invention relates to the containers and method of supplying food for microwave or conventional cooking. In particular, in relates to the packaging of food in containers and allowing transfer of the food to containers capable of sustained cooking in contact with the food.
One of the prime advantages of microwave cooking is the quick preparation of meals for a small family. In this day when the entire family is either at school or at work, pre-prepared frozen convenience dinners or meals continue in popularity. If the frozen meal is packed in aluminum foil containers, it may be cooked in a regular oven, but the metal container can not be used in microwave ovens. Certain types of plastic, ceramic and glass are suitable for microwave use. The common plastics of a cost suitable for packaging frozen pre-prepared dinners are not recommended for microwave use. If the common plastic such as polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride or polyolefins are used in microwave cooking in direct contact with food for any significant period of time, they will degrade, crack or contaminate the food. On the other hand, the special plastics suitable for microwave cooking food on a continuous basis are too expensive to discard after one use. The term "microwavable", when modifying a material, is used to denote the type of material that can be safely used in a microwave oven, such as plastic polymers. When the term "microwavable" is used to denote the type of container then that container can be safely and continuously used in microwave cooking in direct contact with the food. The microwavable container may also be used in a conventional oven. Such microwavable polymeric plastic containers are provided for special gourmet frozen meals, but the dish adds a substantial cost to the meal. There is a need for an apparatus and method to provide inexpensive frozen meals in containers that may be cooked in either microwave or conventional ovens.
An aluminum T.V. dinner tray and transparent cover is illustrated in Defensive Publication No. 617,877 by Gordon H. Lawry. U.S. Patents describing various containers for cooking and storing foods include U.S. Pat. No. 2,495,435 to Arthur E. Welsh, U.S. Pat. No. 3,188,215 to William T. Snow, Jr., U.S. Pat. No. 3,672,916 to Herbert J. Virnig, U.S. Pat. No. 3,830,944 to G. Dimitriadis, U.S. Pat. No. 4,015,085 to Francis J. Woods, U.S. Pat. No. 4,141,487 to Clifford C. Faust et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,210,674 to Richard P. Mitchell, U.S. Pat. No. 4,328,254 to Peter Waldburger and U.S. Pat. No. 4,419,373 to Walter J. Oppermann.
None of the present containers and systems satisfy the above needs nor attain the objects described hereinafter.